northern lights

Sunday, 8 January 2012

Today we had Sambaar and rice for lunch. My daughter-in-law's mother, who is staying with us for the last few days,was surprised at the quality of the Sambaar.She is a connoisseur of cooking.She prepares delicious food.Edhthiamma,as I address her, could not believe that the sambaar was cooked without coconut.I told her that it was Punjabi or, let us say, a North Indian version of sambaar.The Sambar, though not as perfect as she makes, was quite good and could pass muster from any quarters.This incident set me thinking.Born and brought up as a Punjabi, I married a Malyali boy from Kerala.I had no knowledge of cooking even North Indian food. Cooking South Indian food was thus far from the domain of my thinking.It goes to the credit of my husband that he adjusted very well to North Indian food and never complained.I have a sneaking suspicion that in fact he was enjoying it.I however felt I must introduce Kerala cooking in our kitchen.Thus started the fusion or should I say confusion between north and south Indian style of cooking. I adapted quite a number of recipes from Kerala to Punjabi method of preparation. The main difference between the cooking of both regions is that whereas in the North emphasis is laid on thorough roasting of onion/tomato and ginger/garlic paste, in the south the importance of boiling the basic ingredients and garnishing it with coconut is of utmost importance.Since there was time constraint,I managed to cook the vegetables without any add-ons using only the traditional tempering with mustard seeds and curry leaves.I am giving below the recipes of some of the Kerala dishes which have been adapted in Punjabi style and still taste good.I don't claim that they taste better ,but I can safely state that they come very near to the original.I will start with Sambaar.Ingredients:1.Tur dal(arhar dal) 1/2 cup2.Any vegetable can be used,(popular ones are onions tomatoes, white ash gourd, brinjals, drumsticks)3.Tamarind-- size of a medium lemon soaked in 1/2 cup of water. 4.Asafoetida powder -- 1/4th tea spoon5.Sambaar powder-- 2 table spoons full6.Mustard seeds -- 1/2 teaspoon7 Curry leaves-- one or two twigs8 Coriander leaves finely chopped 2 spoons

9 Salt

10.Cooking oil for tempering-- two teaspoons

Method---- Boil the Tur dal in a pressure cooker along with salt,a few curry leaves and asafoetida. In a separate pan boil the vegetables,chopped in medium size....When the vegetables are nearly cooked add tamarind solution and sambaar powder and boil for a few minutes.Now add this to cooked dal. Stir well and boil for one or two minutes.Before removing add the coriander leaves.The Sambaar consistency should be neither too thick nor too thin.For tempering, heat two teaspoons oil add mustard seeds.When they start spluttering add curry leaves and pour on the Sambaar. and mix well.Edethiamma was amused by the method by which the Sambaar was prepared.I told her that it was a north Indian version. In Kerala Sambaar coconut is used and instead of Sambaar powder fresh powder is prepared.

The second recipe is for making Olan..This dish is very simple to prepare..
Ingredients;1.Pumpkin 1 kg. chopped in medium size rectangles2.Onions 2 medium size-- length-wise thinly sliced3.Green Chillies 4 or 5 length-wise cut.4.Ginger 1 small piece thinly cut.5.Small red lentils {optional) 1 handful6.Curry leaves two twigs. 7.Butter 1 table spoonMethod;In a pan boil the lentils till half cooked.Add pumpkin ,green chillies, ginger salt and curry leaves and boil till the pumpkin is done.Ensure that it is not over cooked. The consistency of water should be thick. Add butter and remove from the fire. Goes very well with rice.In Kerala, coconut milk is used instead of water. The next recipe is for Masala Curry. Whereas in Kerala the main ingredient is the potato I have replaced it with mutter (peas).The method of preparation is the same as Sambaar.The only difference is that in mutter masala curry neither dal nor tamarind is used.The other ingredients and method of preparation remain the same. Needless to state that in potato masala curry coconut is also used. I make Stew which, if made in traditional Kerala style is very time consuming,as it requires to extract milk from coconut. I distinctly remember that a Malayali friend advised me to substitute ordinary milk instead of labouring to extract milk from coconuts.I started making Stew with plain milk.Adding Paneer1.Potatoes 3 medium size cut into small pieces2.Onions 3 medium-- Sliced length-wise3. ginger. a small piece cut into small pieces4. Green chillies 5to6 cut length-wise5.coconut milk 200ml (available in the market)6. curry leaves 2 twigsMethod: Boil all the ingredients in water and half of the coconut milk.When the potatoes are done lower the heat and allow the stew simmer for 3to4 minutes.Just after removing from the fire add the other half of the coconut milk and and butter. Tastes good with Idli,Dosai and rice.Instead of potatoes you can add boneless marinated chicken. I wish to mention here that Upma too has been converted into a North Indian dish. In Kerala traditional homes no vegetables are added. In the North we add quite a number of veggies like peas,carrots, beans and potatoes which enhance the taste and also makes the upma look colourful and attractive.Without dwelling on the conversion of Dosa into a North Indian version this article will not be complete. In Kerala Dosa is mainly eaten plain, in the North several fillings have been invented.Potatoes are widely used as filling.The flight of imagination of the human mind has entered new chapters in the history of fillings for the Dosa.These are Egg dosa, Paneer Dosa, Dry fruit Dosa and even Keema Dosa. Even though that was not my intention , Edathiamma might have left confused.I may add that these recipes will not disappoint anybody who ventures into this cooking.

Tuesday, 3 January 2012

Cooking for your family is always a pleasure. The dishes that you dish out evoke mixed response from the dining area.Some may find your concoction very yummy, there may be others who are indifferent and will gulp down any thing laid on the table with an expressionless face and some others who fearlessly go on commenting on theshortcomingsof the dish placed before them without realising what goes behind it. 'What goes behind it' is the thing that matters.The food which is served on the table with garnishing and exotic dressings has a back stage story. Kitchen misery or kitchen mishaps are nothing new for a housewife. We may be experts in cooking but some time or the other we are faced with peculiar situations which not only delay the cooking but create situations which sometimes become embarrassing.My first test in kitchen management surfaced on the day after my marriage. My sister-in-law and her family had come from Kerala.I did not have any expertise in the art of 'cooking management'. In spite of my servant's counsel to make less than what I wanted him to prepare I ensured that he made the quantity specified by the mistress. An embarrassing situation arose when my sis- in -law commented that I had been too generous and prepared food for the whole marriage party.Not even 1/10th of the food was consumed. My mother had sent her own servant to our house knowing fully well that her daughter was a novice and would not be able to handle kitchen affairs.Thereafter I stopped interfering and gave him full freedom!! After the exit of the boy the charge of the kitchen came on my shoulders.It was no easy task.I used to mess up things quite often.At least five days in a week milk was spilled.Sometimes the dough for preparing chapatis became too watery.I rolled it it in a newspaper.It was put inside a dust bin to brood over its fate!! It is a very common occurrence that the family is seated at the table waiting for steaming hot rotis,when without any notice the gas flame will go off,an indication that the gas has let us down at a crucial moment.The arrival of guests at the last minute tests the efficiency of the housewife.. You don't know how to manage the food for additional numbers.You enter the kitchen and hurriedly churn out whatever is available. The greatest kitchen crisis unfolds when the maid decides to take an off without any prior intimation. Surrounded by a mountain of vessels, you have to dispose them off by cleaning them.In the process you break a glass bowl or a plate and curse yourself. But there is no way out. Do or die! I read some where that a messy kitchen is a happy kitchen. I personally don't believe in this dictum. I want my kitchen to look spic and span. Last week I had to face another peculiar situation. I was baking Christmas cakes. I had to make five of them. Four cakes were baked without any hassles.The fifth one was put in the oven. Hardly ten minutes had passed,when the electric current decided to go off.I was in a state of shock!!The cake was liable to be spoilt. Immediately it was kept on gas stove. It was but natural that the last cake was a flop.Few days back another incident occured in our house.There were guests at home. While serving rice the tray full of rice slipped from the hand. The rice fell on the floor and could not be retrieved. The very next day there was a repetition of the previous day's incident. This time it was chicken curry instead of rice. This episode was performed by my daughter-in-law. The poor girl felt very awkward.Every one laughed away the incident,terming it as kitchen disaster!! Mishaps in the kitchen are universal. Every body has to face unwarranted situations in the kitchen. Some days back a friend of mine was stuck in such a situation.It was her daughter's birthday and she was preparing chicken for dinner. When the onions were being sauted she had a look at the chicken.It was nowhere near the one she had ordered. She called the shop and ordered for another one.In the mean time the onions got burnt.How sad! She kept another batch of onions for roasting.While this was going on the call bell announced the arrival of fresh chicken.The onions got burnt burnt again.Oh my God!! She wanted to prepare rice but found it was insufficient for the family.How precious time is wasted in the rigmarole of kitchen needs!! Now finally after finishing cooking chicken and biryani she started with a cake. Here too,she found herself in an unenviable situation.The butter cream did not get the desired consistency.It must have been bugging.In fact after getting very tired she told me to narrate this funny situation to others. She also told me that once she kept baby feed bottles for boiling,and slept .Morning she found the gas on and the plastic completely melted. Her kitchen was saved .It would have been catastrophic if the kitchen had caught fire!Such mishaps are scary. In my kitchen also such a situation was averted. Such situations can turn ugly and tragic.Even though we laugh away these disasters, it is . essential that we take them seriously.We must take basic precautionary measures to avoid accidents in the kitchen.Some measures, which I can think of and are simple to implement, are being recounted ;

a. the kitchen should not be cluttered.

b. all the items required for cooking a particular dish should be placed at a convenient spot so that they can be easily accessed.

c. when leaving the kitchen ensure that the gas and other electrical appliances are switched off.

d. the gas burners tend to clog so it is essential to clean them.

e. when removing a pot from the fire one should be extra cautious.

Hope these little suggestions ,if implemented ,will go a long way in preventing mishaps which occur in our kitchens. Happy and safe cooking!!